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October 16, 2009 11:47 AM PDT

BOL 1086: Beating a dead parse

by Tom Merritt
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Mozilla is upset about the browser ballot screen because it's alphabetical, left to right, by manufacturer. That means Apple gets the prime spot. We think that's parsing the screen too closely. So we decide to parse it even more! And we also reinvent battery technology and solve America's Internet problems. And can you believe it? We even do more. It's true.

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EPISODE 1086

False Alarm: New iPhone 3GS Not Jailbreak-Proof
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/jailbreak-iphone

Wal-Mart Strafes Amazon in Book War
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125565024634288895.html
http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2009/10/wal-mart-wades-into-amazon-with-machete.html

Apple gets best spot in EU browser ‘ballot screen,’ Mozilla says
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139428/Apple_gets_best_spot_in_EU_browser_ballot_screen_Mozilla_says

Windows 7? Don’t Upgrade, Buy A New PC
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/173792/windows_7_dont_upgrade_buy_a_new_pc.html

Schmidt: "Android Adoption Is About To Explode"
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/15/schmidt-android-adoption-is-about-to-explode/

Line sharing best solution for slow, expensive US broadband
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/us-internet-is-slow-expensiveand-the-fcc-has-proof.ars

Internet Traffic Shifting Away From Tier-1 Carriers
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/10/16/1555228/Internet-Traffic-Shifting-Away-From-Tier-1-Carriers

Judge: ringtones aren’t performances, so no royalties
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/judge-ringtones-arent-performances-so-no-royalties.ars

Intelligent speed bumps collapse to reward slow-pokes, cut down on emissions
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/16/intelligent-speed-bumps-collapse-to-reward-slow-pokes-cut-down/

Boffins ‘write directly to memory’ of living brains
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/16/boffins_program_fly_brains/

VOICEMAIL
Matt in Orlando on Light Peak

Patrick in NH explains problem with Viper car start

E-MAIL
Hey guys (and girls)!

I have an iPhone 3gs an an apple headset but when I’m on a call and
start my car it will ALWAYS disconnect any Bluetooth devices from my
phone and hijack the connection…

It’s kinda nice though Bering into the car and having everything
change over, the problem is when you get out you have to manually try
to reconnect a Bluetooth device before it will work – thus is not
always easy…

Oh and a bog shout out to all the Irish geeks listening in! LOVE THE
SHOW

Sent from my iPhone

Brian Murphy

**********

I was catching up on my podcasts and heard you discussing a penny-sized nuclear battery that had 6 times more charge than a conventional battery.
Turns out that story originates from the University of Missouri, my place of employment!

Un-cited quote:
"To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density," said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. "The radioisotope battery can provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries." And it’s perfectly safe.

Notice that’s not 6 times more charge, its 6 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more charge (sorry for yelling, I’m excited). Now my Furby can chatter on forever!

Buzz on RafMoNatToJaCooTong.
Tony in Missouri

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Add a Comment (Log in or register)
by brianburdan October 16, 2009 1:46 PM PDT
Give me a break with the browser selection in EU version of Windows. I cannot understand why this is even an issue. Microsoft shipping a browser with their OS is a convenience for casual users. They still have just as much right to go download any other browser if they want. No one is denying them that. If people are too ignorant to know they can get any browser they want, then that is a PEBCAK. Shame on you EU! How many taxes were wasted fighting this in court.....
Reply to this comment
by bd26 October 16, 2009 7:38 PM PDT
i have a new pc and its fine and i'm not going to upgrade and i have alot of ram
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Buzz Out Loud features Tom Merritt, producer Jason Howell, and a rotating roundtable of CNET's top tech experts reviewing the day's tech news. Each episode, five times a week, the crew analyzes, interprets, and argues about what all this technology means and what it's doing to us. Fans can join in the show by calling 1-800-616-2638, e-mailing at buzz@cnet.com, or commenting on the blog.


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